15 of the Cutest Lil Taters in Studio: Potato Sack Pose and Wrapping

15 Babies Who Slayed Their Potato Sack Newborn Pose 

Versatile & Why It's the Best

Hi, friends! Today's blog post is a great read because it's all about my favorite type of newborn wrapping during my posed session: potato sack pose. This post also showcases 15 precious earth side cherubs who totally rocked this setup! Wrapping little ones makes for totally unique, special, and very laid back sessions.

Part of hiring a professional portrait photographer for your little one's first session is choosing someone who will keep baby's comfort in mind. Since the baby has spent nine months in a warm, tight place this style of wrapping is not only adorable but keeps baby very sleepy and calm. Essentially, creating an environment that mimics the womb baby does super well!

This is the best style of newborn wrapping because it's most versatile. For instance, during this pose you can do the following setups:

• Sibling

• Mom with Baby

• Dad with Baby

• Mom/Dad/Baby

• Baby in floor prop

• Baby on the flokati rug

• Baby "sitting up" in potato sack pose

• Baby laying down in potato sack pose

• Macro images (up close detailed images of baby's features)

This allows you to create a gorgeous gallery for clients while seamlessly moving through tons of set ups! Moreover, potato sack pose is the best style of wrapping because it truly embodies baby as a bundle of joy. Parents marvel at how round they are - just like a little basketball! 

I typically start my newborn sessions with this style, though have been known to sometimes end in a potato sack, too. Each baby is different! 

Newborn Wrapping Basics

When wrapping a baby in potato sack pose, it is very important to ensure they are stable and properly supported. This style of wrapping can be achieved by attending a newborn workshop on safety + session flow. I would not recommend this pose to anybody who has not taken any hands on training as they baby is sitting up. The workshops will teach you how to achieve this look with baby's safety in mind. 

Potato sack wrapping is also a great way to incorporate texture into the session. For example, there are several types of textiles on hand from cheesecloth to chunky knits. They may vary, depending on season, but are wonderful ways to elevate your newborn session through unique props. I adore using handcrafted hats and bonnets, too, to highlight baby's chubby cheeks! Few things are as precious as a brand new little one. Sometimes they even give us a smile, seen below, which is a total gem to capture. Such sweetness!

Simple Newborn Wrapping & Posing

Keep baby nice and snug by ensuring their joints are wrapping perfectly. This keeps baby very sleepy and content. They can be posed into adorable floors props, such as buckets, bowls, crates, etc. The options are endless, and my clients have full access to the vast array of awesome props I have on hand. In fact, I am constantly adding to my stash and am mildly (who I kidding, TOTALLY) addicted to having new items on hand for my most precious clients!

Thanks for visiting to see 15 adorable babies who rock their newborn session! I hope you enjoyed reading about the simple, precious, and darling way to wrap a newborn baby!! 

Sarah Borchgrevink Photography is a Houston Newborn Photographer specializing in gorgeous posed newborn sessions. Her studio is located in Northwest Harris County. In addition to breathtaking baby portraiture, Sarah also offers stylish natural light family photography as well as dynamic outdoor maternity sessions for expecting mothers and couples. Sarah joyfully serves the entire Harris and Montgomery county areas including Houston, Cypress, Tomball, Spring, The Woodlands, Kingwood, Memorial & West Houston, Katy, Sugar Land, Pearland, Richmond, West University and Rice Village.

Photo Tips Newborn Sessions | Create Variety through Simple Posing

Through the use of simple newborn posing, Sarah Borchgrevink Photography shares ways to create soulful, unique and breathtaking newborn images.

Hi, friends! Welcome! Today's blog post is full of some tips for posing during a newborn session and how to make the most of each set up through simple posing. This topic is especially important to me since my newborn packages are digitally based: this means clients purchase full resolution digital galleries as well as a print release from me. This also means my galleries need to be full of variety from naked bean bag posing, parent images, macro details, lovely floor props and also back lit set ups. 

Over the years I have learned a great session flow that works well in my own studio space. I have curated my collections so that they may be photographed in about 2 hours. Part of photographing a newborn session efficiently means choosing what's most important to document and reading the baby's queues. Another aspect of creating variety in your newborn galleries is making the most of each and every set up. 

You may be asking, "Well, what does that mean?" If you're a beginner in the world of newborn photography, this can seem daunting or not very clear. However, it truly is simple: focus on the set up in front of you and don't rush. This can be achieved by:

• Using many different angles. A prime lens (such as a 50 mm or a 35 mm) is the best way to become creative. Because a prime lens is "fixed", meaning the lens does not zoom and is instead of set focal length, it's a good plan to move around. Angel your lens to many different angels through standing, sitting, "zooming" with your feet, etc. This will create variety even during the most simplistic of poses! This is especially helpful to a newborn photographer who is in the beginning stages of building a baby portraiture brand because you may not have quite figured out your session flow. Have no worries. It will come in time. Your own studio space will influence this for you and you'll learn what works for your preferences. I currently photograph about 10 set ups in two hours. 
• Hats or bonnets are an excellent way to add variety to simplistic posing, too! This can add variety by adding a pop of color and make the entire image look completely different! 
• Add a wrap to baby, too! You can drape an organic wrap or textile over baby and this will change the look of the image as well. Parents love sweet photos of their little ones swaddled, wrapped, or simple covered so they're a little more modest. 

The images above, for example, are of sweet baby girl Sage who visited at 8 days new. Her parents came from The Woodlands, TX for their posed newborn session and asked for hunter green during our time together. Baby is wrapped with her cute toes out, but we also used a classic bonnet and headband for her images so two different looks resulted from a simple switch. 

• Communicate with your clients. Don't be afraid to try different things. :-) You can also ask Mom and Dad what their favorite preference is, too! For example, yesterday's newborn session visited for a full newborn collection; in her prep e-mail we chatted about what poses she liked the most and what styles of wrapping. This allows you to focus on what's important to the parents and make the most of that set up + your time in studio. If the parents dislike a set up, just don't include it. This is also part of having Top Notch Customer Service, too - double score!

Before we delve into the 3 set ups that result in the most variety, you may be interested in reading about these topics: 

1.  The Three Free Cloud Storage Systems you should recommend to clients
2.  5 Must Studio Newborn Props on Amazon Prime
3. Pricing Your Newborn Collections | Packages & Pricing for Houston Sessions

Let's get started! Here are my go to set ups that are more simple yet can evoke a sense of tender beauty, are favorites among my own clients, and also can be full of variety, thus resulting in an absolutely fantastic newborn gallery! Wow your clients! 

Tootsie Wrap

Tootsie wrap is a wonderful way to create variety in your session! This sweet baby girl is named Zoya and she visited my Houston Newborn Portrait Studio when she was 17 days fresh and new; she slept beautifully for me and we used many gorgeous textiles from my favorite vendor for wrapping. The sage green is the perfect color on her gorgeous skin! I also paired this set up with a dainty, feminine and stunning newborn tie back from another great vendor named Violet Loves Me. 

Variety was created in this set up through the use of a floor prop (check out my favorite newborn session styling tips with vintage inspired floor items), and then also moving baby to bean bag. This was a simple adjustment that still looks cohesive, but also makes an impact since you have the wooden floors in one shot but then the soft, muted, classic sage green backdrop in another image. 

The second way to create variety here is to take the time do some macro images. When photographing my macro images, I like to wait until baby is nice and sleepy. I use a 100 mm f/2.8L macro lens from Canon. Macro images are especially near and dear to my heart because while I am a professional Houston newborn photographer, one of which works full time, I am also a mommy to three little ladies (Emma, Lucy and Amelia) and one dashing fellow (Jack) so I can attest how important these images are to parents. 

Through this one simple style of wrapping called tootsie, baby remains calm and content; you can take your time, capture these macro details and make your clients' heart sing when they see the beautiful work you've created. Simple posing is best because it showcases baby in the most lovely of ways; removing distracting pieces is truly the heart of my custom newborn portraiture because this preserves baby for a timeless and classic look.

Back Lit

Back lit images during newborn photography are some of my absolute favorite. So much, in fact, you may be interested in seeing which lighting equipment I have in studio and how I create gorgeous light with artificial lighting.

Back-lit images are also a great way to create absolutely breathtaking images in your newborn galleries because they're ethereal and ever so special as the soft, white light surrounds baby. The heavenly look is perfect for macro images, too! 

My favorite macro details are always profile, hands, lips and cheeks. 

Potato Sack Wrap

Baby girl Shelby visited my studio at 2 weeks new for a wrapped session. She looks lovely on the green backdrop of flokati rug. 

Potato sack pose is truly a stunning syle of newborn wrapping! Not only is rustic, fresh and organic, but it also can be done with both boy or girl babies. You can do a variety with potato sack pose from flokati rug, seen above, macro images, or even styling with different headbands or bonnets. This pose is versatile because it also may be used on bean bag, floor, or during parent shots. 

Specializing in timeless posed baby portraiture, Sarah Borchgrevink Photography is a Houston Newborn Photographer serving the surrounding areas including Houston metro & 610 area, Cypress, Katy, Spring, The Woodlands, Sugar Land, West University, Memorial & Galleria, Bellaire and The Woodlands, TX. See why Sarah offers the Best Newborn Photography. In addition to breathtaking newborn images, Sarah also offers stylish natural light family photography as well as dynamic outdoor maternity sessions for expecting couples.

Sarah's Studio is located in Northwest Harris County

 

Ultimate Nap Fighting Champion | Working with Alert Newborns in Studio

Sarah Borchgrevink Photography, located in Houston, shares how to photograph an alert newborn in a posed studio setting. 

Dylan's Petite Posed Newborn Session | 12 Days Fresh & New

Hi, gang! Welcome and greetings! I'm glad you're here to read about ways to photograph a newborn who may not be interested in sleeping during the posed newborn session. As a newborn photographer who specializes in posed studio work, I am always really excited when a brand new baby visits my space! In fact, for this particular baby boy named Dylan, I already had the honor of documenting his parent's natural light maternity session so take a peek at that post if you'd like to more information on creating meaningful pregnancy portraits. Today, however, is all about working with babies who are alert.

Before we begin, it's important to note that newborn sessions take place in the first 14 days of life. I offer three options for parents to consider, so click on over to the full pricing guide to see a mini, petite or full newborn collection. Dylan's parents chose my petite newborn collection, which is a lovely option! Featuring all things cozy wrapping, a handful of naked bean bag posing, vintage inspired props, and family/parent images this session is a remarkable and authentic way to preserve this incredibly special time in your baby's life. Once you've notified me of baby's earth side arrival, I send you 3-4 dates to consider that take place in the first two weeks. You're also given a detailed prep guide on how to have a successful newborn session and also how I keep baby content during their posed studio session.

Nevertheless, despite prepping baby and visiting my Houston Newborn Portrait Studio in the first 14 days, some babies are simply more alert than others. They are all individual people and it's important to treat each baby with respect. They have their own autonomy. I can spend hours soothing, rocking, feeding, and providing a calm environment, however, sometimes baby is just a nap fighting champion.

Here is my studio policy on alert babies:

*If baby is already close to the 14 day mark, we spend the 2 hours capturing what we may capture. If your baby is 4-5 days old and is just cluster nursing non-stop, we will bring you back in on day 7 to try again if we've spent 60 minutes and baby is crying or seems unhappy. 

Let's get started, shall we? :-) 

Cozy, Sweet Potato Sack Wrap

Potato sack wrap is the best way to keep baby asleep when they're feeling alert. This is because the wrap is snug around baby's joints and reminds them of being back in the womb. Paired with white noise and an 80 degree environment, it's sure to help them go to sleep. At this point, you can take advantage of baby sleeping. Take this opportunity to take images of baby with a hat, without a hat, on their side, sitting up, in a floor prop, etc. The trick to working with an alert newborn is making sure you make the most of each and every set up. Newborns are challenging! Even the most laid back newborn session can take around 2 hours to photograph. However, by starting with potato sack wrap, you're sure to keep things running much more smoothly than if you began with a naked bean bag pose.

Floor Props & Keep Baby Snug

Another trick to working with a newborn who's not sleepy is to utilize different floor props. If baby finally falls asleep, try not to disturb them. Keep the heat close so they're content and very carefully wrap out hats, wraps, and floor prop items. All of my floor props, for example, are low to the ground and also keep baby safe. For this session, Dylan was ready to party and while he is super duper handsome, he truly made me work, ha! I pulled a classic wooden trench bowl, antique metal pail and a simple, rustic weaved basket to provide variety for his parents. 

Moreover, to create more variety in your sessions, don't be afraid to experiment with different colors and textures. While baby is wrapped in very similar styles, I used texture to ensure each set up looks different, despite being in three different wrapping styles. Since his parents chose my petite gallery, I needed to come up with 30 images that are all different. Thankfully, I am very experienced in posed newborn portraiture and am comfortable working with alert newborns, however, three years ago I may have felt a little frazzled. 

This brings up another point: don't get stressed. I know it can make newborn photographers feel anxious when you have a baby in studio who is not sleepy. You have a game plan in your mind on what you want to accomplish and you also are eager for the parents to love the photos. Newborn photography is truly customized and a special art because it takes someone with patience, skill and attention to detail to truly create beautiful baby images. Keep calm. Remember your newborn training and mentoring. You also may go over on time a little bit and that's okay: don't forget parents have invested in these images and while it's great to stay on schedule, if you spend an extra half hour in order to achieve the look you need, it is well worth it! 

Dylan made me work but he is just so handsome!

Tootsie Style of Newborn Wrapping

After floor props, I moved Dylan into tootsie wrap style. This is the foundation for all my macro images from his session. You'll see those below. Once I was able to get him back to sleep, I moved him to bean bag and pulled the most lovely, charcoal grey color scheme featuring a matching wrap, back drop, and bonnet. I did have to rock him for a bit and rub his eyes, but his Dad was very helpful and kept the heater really close and moved my white noise machine so baby would sleep even deeper.

The sweet smiles make the whole session worth it for me! His parents will truly treasure his adorable little smirk and stunning features. Even on the most challenging of sessions, I am happy to be with babies. Each baby is also a learning experience and way to better yourself as a newborn portrait artist. 

Don't forget your precious macro images

Since Dylan is already wrapped in a precious tootsie style, I took this as an opportunity to capture his macro details. This is an example of making the most of each set up during your time with baby. Instead of moving him and risking him waking up, I delicately adjusted his body so he is parallel to my light and photographed his darling characteristics such as his brand new, curly toes, sweet profile, his lips, nose, cheeks and eye lashes. He did not want me to touch his hands so I kept his hands inside of the wrap, but we still achieved enough variety for a petite newborn gallery. I ended up showing his parents around 80 images! I call that a successful newborn session, even if baby did not want to sleep. :-) 

Get Creative With Your Sliders in Processing

The final tip I suggest is to be creative with sliders in post processing of images. All of these images were photographed on a blue back drop, but by adjusting my sliders in Lightroom, which is a post processing software professional photographers utilize, I was able to give his parents 4 different colors. So, for each image shown below, I gave them a grey, green, teal and blue version of the photos plus a black/white edit. 

Thanks for stopping by my blog to read ways to work with alert newborns, even if they are the ultimate nap fighting champions, ha! I hope you enjoyed seeing styles of wrapping, vintage floor props, and tips for a successful posed newborn session. If you liked this post you may enjoy reading about the other topics such as:

• Setting Your Business Apart with Top Notch Customer Service
• Creating a Natural Light Look Through Studio Lighting
• Three Safe & Easy Ways to Pose Dad with Newborn Baby

Specializing in posed baby portraits, Sarah Borchgrevink Photography is a Houston Newborn Photographer serving the surrounding areas including Houston metro area, Cypress, Katy, Spring, The Heights, Sugar Land, West University, Bellaire, and The Woodlands, TX. In addition to breathtaking newborn images, Sarah also offers stylish natural light family photography as well as dynamic outdoor maternity sessions for expecting couples.